Chapter 3
The city of Hope was practically sprawling from activity. That might be expected from the capital of the Terran Federation, but this was extraordinary even for the "jewel of Terra".
Military officers, countless MEP's from the seventy plus colonies located throughout Federation space, as well multiple figures and representatives from various organizations, ranging from interstellar companies to independent paramilitary groups (mostly mercenaries), that acted as escorts to their wealthy and powerful employers.
Anywhere else, the close proximity of so many groups with differing (and often conflicting interests) might lead to trouble, but not here in Hope. It was a place holy to each and every Terran, reserved for the highest and most honorable echelons of Terran society.
But the true heart of Terra's grandest city was not the massive metropolis, spanning many kilometers over Antarctica's surface, it was much more what laid beneath the ice. Five miles under the surface was a second, or better said, the actual city of Hope. Discovered by the Americans mere months before Doomsday, it resisted eight years of grueling siege, and had ultimately delivered the technology needed to achieve victory.
But the grand history of this place, constructed by the Ancients, was not what occupied Ben Avura's mind as he marched through the corridors towards his intended destination. Linking his mind with the doors, they opened immediately to allow him entry to a white passageway, through which he walked without hesitation.
He felt the genetic sensors sweep through his body, the energy behind the millions of radiation rays that checked every single cell, every little piece of DNA within him to assure he was, who he pretended to be. He was fully aware the harmless sensor radiation washing over him would change in mere nanoseconds to deadly alpha waves if only one inconsistency was found, but he wasn't bothered by the fact. It was by far not the first time that he went through such security measures, and he was used to the somewhat unpleasant tingling which accompanied it.
Suddenly the tingling sensation vanished, and the second door at the end of the corridor clicked at began to open.
"Welcome Mister President." greeted him a melodic voice. "The others have already arrived, and are waiting."
"They're already here? All six of them?" Ben Avura asked, a little bit surprised.
"Yes we are." announced an annoyed sounding woman standing right before the opening security gate, instead of the AI. The woman was pretty small by Terran standards, barely reaching a height of 1.8 meters, making her by far the smallest of the six Terrans present. Her rather small stature however, did nothing to diminish the absolute authority she radiated. "To be exact, we waited for two hours so get your ass in here ASAP!"
Avura signed at her disrespectful demeanor, not that her attitude was unexpected. Theresa von Strache, the Grand Admiral of the First Fleet, never made a secret that she held him in low regard. She had voiced her negative opinion on him multiple times in media and the ultranet during his election campaign, never missing an opportunity to criticize him or his policies.
But her campaign against him backfired, and served to only reinforce his decision to favor the economy over Terra's truly massive military. Avura wanted to ensure people outside of the core worlds and in the inner systems could live as prosperous lives as the inhabitants of the Sol system or the prime sector, and find work outside of the armed forces.
His policies made him beloved by about anyone but the militarists, who heavily criticized his decision to not increase the military by the same extent as previous governments had. Time and time again he had prioritized infrastructure projects over the construction of yet another battleship or carrier, believing the current fleet to be sufficient. Too bad that it now seemed to come back to bite him.
Fortunately were the other residents in the room, who were far friendlier towards him (or at least indifferent). Pope Clement XV nodded to him, and his Islamic Counterpart Sahin mirrored this, which caused Avura to relax greatly. As powerful as the military was in the political sphere, they had yet to reach the enormous influence the Ecclesia and the reformed Islamic Church held.
On the other side was his own good friend Nathan Blest, the chosen supreme representative of the inner, mid and outer systems. Beside him was also the sole non-Terran, Queen Natorious Slenka, ruler of the Viper species and elected representative of the prime colony of Mars. Her nearly six meter long golden body made out a large part of the room, and was clad in resplendent purple clothing.
And then at the last was Field Marshall Xi, commander of the military staff. Of all the people present, he held by far the most neutral expression, mirroring his legendary calmness and ability to always see the bigger picture.
Avura put considerable effort in getting as much information as possible out of the six individuals in this room, since each one of them possessed enough power and influence to throw the Federation into civil war.
However, he didn't think that Nathan, who was not only a good friend of his and the main supporter for his presidency campaign, would undertake such actions; particularly when one observed his relatively peaceful policy to undermine any separatist efforts, especially in the outer systems. Unlike his predecessors, he did not suppress such endeavors through military and police forces, but instead allowed them to fulfill their wishes by allowing them greater autonomy, and showing just how it would hurt their economic situation if they would fully split off the constantly expanding Federation.
Then there was Grand Imam Sahin Abdul. Avura doubted he would cause any trouble; Abdul was the head of the reformed Islamic church and the spiritual leader of nearly twelve billion Muslims in the Terran Federation, and universally seen as a man of peace second only to the Dalai Lama. He was one of the founders of the Asian Federation, which merged together with the free Mars republics into the Terran Federation in order to oppose the Terran Empire, which had formed out of Ecclasiarchal Europe and the Free American Empire.
The same could be said about Field Marshall Xi Wan. He was the commanding general of the Federations armies that not only repulsed Alien occupation in the Southeast Asian uprising, the largest uprising ever seen, but also retook former India, Australia, Japan, and Siberia from the warlords who arose from the ashes of civilization after the Fall.
With Natorious he was unsure however. The serpent held two titles: Monarch of the Viper race, and elected representative of Mars, the largest colony of the Federation. With over seven billion inhabitants, three fourths of which were Vipers, the red planet was the largest rival to Terra's thirteen billion strong population. The reptilian species was an important part of the Federation as a whole; even with extensive breeding programs and a higher fertility rate, the War For Survival left scars that simply couldn't be repaired with any haste. Despite the enormous recovery since then (a 500 percent recovery in fact), the freed Viper race were still too important to sideline.
Then there were the two people who actually filled Terra's president with concern.
Pope Clement, head of the Ecclesia, and the man who represented the nearly 19 billion Christians in the Terran Federation. The Ecclesia itself was the combined protestant, catholic, and orthodox churches, as well as numerous smaller confessions from the American continent, who united to one single church for the entire Christian faith. Christianity had already taken up a good share of the worlds population before Armageddon, but a combination of the war itself, the clear favoritism of Christians in the Empire, as well as the ability of powerful psionics to talk to the consciousness of the dead caused them, Islam and Buddhism to explode.
The Catholic Church had called for a crusade during the War For Survival, and the other confessions quickly joined. They carried on fighting after Xeno infiltration caused the Russian and the EU governments to collapse, and quickly became a sort of meta-state, ruling the European continent until they united with the Free American empire and the Terran empire. The Church continued to hold colossal power and influence in the Empire, where Christianity became the state religion. That was a fortunate turn of events, as the Ecclesia would use this to prevent the Empire from starting any war against the Federation, and ultimately was responsible for it's downfall. As the Empire deployed it's own massive military forces against the regimes remnants after information got out, that not the Vipers but Imperator Kinsey had been responsible for the assassination of Pope, now Saint, Franziskus.
And the there was the biggest concern of them all. Grand Admiral Theresia von Strache. Once, she was the head of the military of some old war nation named Germany. She was also the sole reason why mainland Europe, unlike Asia, didn't fall to the Ethereal menace. Her military genius was unmatched in the entire Federation. She'd been born an albino, and had had a fragile body, before she had left her humanity behind all together behind and became one of the Empire's first Terrans.
After the fall of the nation states in Europe she, like many other officers, joined forces with the Crusaders, the last sizable organized force in Eurasia still resisting alien tyranny, and became a major figure not only in the Ecclesia's (and later the Empire's), military where she dominated, but also in the politics of both. Her sheer tactical skill and prestige made her very, very dangerous.
With a sigh Avura sat down at the for him reserved seat.
"I am sure we all are aware of the reason for this meeting?" he asked rhetorically. Of course they knew the whole story; it spread like a wildfire through the ultranet, so even places like Satella or Orim in the outer systems had taken notice of it within an hour.
"Of course!" scoffed Von Strache. "Your administration caused an incident with the Gate that allowed xenos to set foot on Terra itself!"
Avura frowned. "Excuse me? How is an alien attack through the Gate my fault?"
"Well." answered the Grand Admiral, smirking darkly. "Who was the one that put the gate out of the military's control? I observed the videos of event quite thoroughly. Where were our Mechs, static defenses, the task force of guard troopers ready to annihilate any foe? Where were the defense measures, which I helped to create? I don't think you caused this, but it was your administration which brought the Gate under the oversight of civilian agencies, just because it helped the economy, and by doing so leaving it inadequately protected! What if instead of handful of xenos, an entire invasion army stormed through?"
"Then they would've been wiped out by reinforcements arriving from all of Sol!" Avura countered, clearly angered by the accusation. "Terra itself in no way under any sort of danger! Even I, as an amateur in military tactics, am aware of that! The 'impenetrable defense' you designed delayed any commercial use of the Gate!"
"Mister President, Grand Admiral, please." interrupted Pope Clement. "What happened is in the past and out of our control, we have more pressing matters at hand I believe."
"Oh as if this is any relieve for those who died because off…" she stopped her own rant and instead sat down on her seat, an upset expression on her face. President Avura mirrored her actions and signaled the Pope to continue.
Clemens nodded thankfully to them and began talking.
"The situation seems to be contained at the moment, but we should not underestimate the danger. The attack and losses may have been small, but I sought to remind those present that similar sized attacks from from the Ethereals marked the beginning of Armageddon. I have no doubt that Dark times lay ahead of us. I have contacted by many concerned Cardinals, who report growing fear among many of the followers. I ordered them to calm the populace down, but without further information over this new enemy we are bound. I was contacted by Grand Imam Sahin who told me of a similar situation on his end. As bad as it is here, it's worse in the outer colonies. Those communities lack the fortifications and armies of the core and the inner systems, and I received numerous requests to deploy the Knights of Michael and the Order of Johannes to shield those poor souls in need of the Lords protection."
All signs of anger over Von Strache's disrespectful attitude quickly vanished off Avura's face as he processed what Clemens said. The outer systems were a bunch of free colonies, who were with some exceptions (notably Satella and Shenyang) not founded by the Terra or the administrations of the inner and mid systems. They had their origins from freelancers, adventurers financed by individuals who possessed too much money and time, as well as all kinds of companies, most of whom were conducting mining operations.
Communities and settlements amassed out there however were too small to be actually considered a colony. Unlike in the mid or inner systems, never mind the core, Military outposts and stations were scarce, and the region itself was mind numbingly vast. Piracy, smuggling, and private wars between companies were commonplace.
"Grand Admiral, what is the state of the fleets and our armed forces? We are surely capable of repelling any invasion?" he asked, concerned. While he had not been alive during the War For Survival (or how it was commonly called Armageddon), he grew up with stories of the horror and terror mankind had to endure.
"First and Second Fleets are fully operational, and ready to respond to any threat to the core. The same goes for Third and Fourth in the inner systems. Fifth, Seventh, and Eighth Fleets are being mobilized as we speak, and are busy diverting forces throughout the mid systems. Sixth and Ninth Fleets are currently undergoing major overhauls, it'll take weeks until they are fully combat ready. Tenth Fleet is stationed in the outer systems performing anti piracy operations."
Von Strache listed the individual status reports with a stern and professional impression, but that did not stop Avura from flinching when she came to the Tenth Fleet. His Fleet.
Avura had promised to bring order in the so called wild regions, aka the outer systems, during his election campaign, and had modeled the new armada every new administration had to construct, the Tenth Fleet accordingly. The problem was that battleships and carrier were hardly suitable to light smuggling, and were too slow to stop the small ships and mercenaries of warring companies or to hunt down pirates.
Instead of large capital ships which consumed enormous amounts of money and resources, the fleet consisted mostly of patrol craft, corvettes, frigates, destroyers, and a handful of old cruisers. Ideal to fight criminal activities, but it would without a doubt be torn apart if it had to face an actual foe. The fleet's makeup, combined with the general lack of orbital defenses in most of the colonies, left the outer systems pretty exposed to possible alien incursions.
"And what about our ground forces?" This time the question was directed towards Field Marshall Xi, who had remained silent until now.
"Twenty million Guard soldiers can be called upon for deployment within this week. If the decision is taken to mobilize, than these can be aided by around a hundred million regular soldiers. Another month and one hundred fifty million reservists will push the numbers further up. Should the Ecclesia and the Reformed Islamic Church choose to participate in this, then their paramilitary forces would most likely bring up several million more for the defense." the old general listed off.
"Excellent." Avura nodded happily; some good news at last.
"However, any offensive operation could, given our current logistical situation, support only up to fifteen million soldiers at the most. In your place I would protest against offensive or preemptive actions until we gain more intelligence on our enemy. What little we know from the survivors of the first Stargate expedition is insufficient. But I can assure you, that we will be far better suited to fight a second war than we were forty years ago." The last words showed a rare flash of pride from the Asian, who lived as a general through the Fall of China in his youth. Something that, if rumors were to believed, he considered his eternal shame.
"That is certainly true." Avura confirmed. They were no longer naive, weak humans on a divided world, oblivious to the horrors that inhabited the universe. Eighteen years of cold war between the Terran empire and the Terran Federation, as well as the agenda to leave Terra stronger after their rule that every Administration since the great unification followed, had made the once broken and devastated Earth a military juggernaut ready to stand it's ground.
"Hmm, I wonder if we are really bound to only defend ourselves? I think it would be far better to bring the fight to them, before the Goa'uld can muster their forces." Natorious hissed, while scratching her throat with one of her claws.
"I was informed that we managed to take a hostile captive. I can assume he is being interrogated?" The last sentence was aimed at Von Strache.
"Well no." the Grand Admiral answered. "He is unconscious from the psionic overload which followed his mind being struck by more than thirty Guards simultaneously. It is a miracle that he is even alive after that, and even with the information he could provide, I very much doubt he'll know much. The information we have about the Goa'uld suggest that they use slaves as soldiers, what means that it is unlikely that he knows very much about his 'god's domain.' As well, given that he survived the psionic mass assault launched by elite forces, indicates he possesses a ridiculously strong will and mind. Strong enough to resist or at least delay any psionic interrogation."
"Hm. What about an infiltration?" asked Nathan. "We should be able to trace the coordinates of where the attackers came from. A small unit of elite operatives should be capable of slipping through their defenses and collect the necessary information. And if the situation presents itself, either free or eliminate the three unfortunate individuals abducted through gate."
"That seems quite risky, doesn't it?" Avura said, while thinking it through nonetheless. "What if the infiltrators are captured as well?"
"Then they will follow protocol and deny the foe any possible information." answered Strache, who clearly also thought about the option. "It is risky only so far that we lose a couple of soldiers if it fails. Should it succeed however, we'll gain important intelligence over our enemy, which could give us a definite advantage to what we know at present, and could possible save the lives of millions."
"I as well." Natorious added, a satisfied smile on her face. Somehow, Avura could not get rid of the feeling that this was exactly the outcome the snake Queen had hoped for. "In fact I am ready to commit parts of my own personal Praetorian Guards to this operation to ensure it's success."
That last statement shocked the President, as well as the other Terrans in the room, and while they all hid their surprise, it was clearly there. The Praetorians were the most skilled of all the Vipers, tasked with the protection of clan heads and males. They were entirely psionics, a trait that was much rarer in the Vipers than Terrans, and they were able to give the legendary first Guard legion a run for their money.
"Wonderful!" he exclaimed, while making a mental note to investigate the abducted people carefully; sending Praetorian warriors on what was essentially a suicide mission indicated that she had some hidden agenda on her own.
"So will your Praetorian than be in command of the operation, seeing how they will be the most qualified of the operatives?" He was pretty sure that was her intention with the suggestion. It was an unofficial rule introduced by the legend Jack O`Neill himself that in any covert operation the most competent menber take the lead, rank optional.
"Oh no." answered the serpent, smirking now. "I already discussed this matter with my colleagues here while waited for you and Systems Representative Blest to arrive, and both Grand Admiral Von Strache and Pope Clemens agreed to support any effort made to safe those, who were captured by the enemy. As such my Praetorians will accompanied by Templars."
"Excuse me?!" Avura exclaimed. "The Grand Admiral may be a good tactician but as far as I know she does not posses the authority over the armed forces in peace times! That role is still reserved to me the President!"
"Oh quite right, Mr. President." Von Strache said with a predatory undertone. "But I personally have sent out for a certain individual, whose expertise you can not deny."
"You are not talking of…?"
"I don't think there are any objections to having Jack O'Neill join to lead this mission, and I am certain all others here agree." Her lips parted to show a small, teeth filled smile that only widened as she observed how her counterpart realized how right she was.
"And why should he accept? He retired a long time ago and lives a hermit life nowadays." Avura stated, a last attempt to bring up a counterargument.
"Oh he will accept as soon as he hears what our foe is. Protecting Terra and it's people makes out his entire being. I meet him and he is one of the few who managed to gain my honest and unhindered respect. And if only to insure that he comes, I made sure that he gets the news from one of his friends." Von Strache's grin almost split her face now as she rose from her seat.
"I think that this discussion is over. I have to prepare the general staff and the Admiralty for large scale war, and I think that the others have similar important tasks at hand." She strode to the door without anyone making objections to her statements. "Oh and Avura..." she pushed the door open. "Please make sure that you are on time for the next session."
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"Jack old house! How are you?"
"I'm doing fine."
"Great, would you be so kind and aim the gun somewhere else than my face?"
"Only when you tell me why you are here Harry, and even then it's a maybe."
Harold Mayborne let out a laugh, but still kept his eyes on the barrel of the Springfield rifle currently pointing at his nose.
"Please Jack, what warrants this kind of behavior towards your old pal. And why do you automatically assume that I am here for any other reason than to see my good friend? I'm hurt! Deeply, such mistrust!" the last part was spoken with so little sincerity, it almost made O'Neill hurl.
Observing the surroundings of his log cabin, he searched after faint ripples in the air, small dust clouds caused by invisible feet and pressed down grass. Failing to find any signs of cloaking, O'Neill finally lowered the antique gun and gestured him to come through the doors.
"Nice interior." said Mayborne, while he glanced around. "I like the TV and the stone oven. It has something….. retro."
"Thanks. Want a beer and a cooked fish?"
"Not hungry." declined Mayborne after giving the offered food one short look. "So your lake has fish again, last time you complained that-
"Cut the chat Mayborne, why are you here?" O'Neill interrupted, not letting go of the weapon.
"I assume you heard of the gate attack?" the agent asked rhetorically.
"Yeah!" he answered. "Ferretti informed me. Kawalski was involved in the event and got knocked out by some kind of stun grenade. I guess you're here to recall me into service."
The last sentence was a less a question than a statement.
Mayborne, who for all his banter actually considered the retired war hero a friend, sighed. "I know you're sick of fighting, but it's not something we got a choice in. The Goa'uld won't care if we say we're done with it."
"Really, that old speech?" O'Neill's head jerked up, his eyes glowing purple in anger. "It's not that I'm tired of fighting and believe me I know the Goa'uld better than you. I know how they treat humans, and I doubt they'll make any difference for Terrans. If I go with you or not depends on what I'm supposed to help with."
"It is a reconnaissance mission through the gate to where the Goa'uld came from to collect information on them." The answer stunned Jack, who stared at Mayborne for a couple of seconds with an incredulous look on his face.
When it become obvious to him he was serious, O'Neill threw his head back and started laughing.
"THAT`S IT? You want me for nothing more than a suicide mission, so that I can become some kind of martyr? For crying out loud!" he suddenly stood up, his laughter replaced by anger.
"Out of my house! Now!" he yelled. When he saw Mayborne hesitating, he picked him by his shoulder and pushed him to the door.
"Sorry Jack, but I can't do that. Not this time." he heard Mayborne whisper, and a moment later both were enveloped by psionic energy.
Jack would've been more than capable of resisting the psionic transportation under normal circumstances, but the sheer shock of Mayborne going to such lengths froze him for almost a second, and by then it was already too late to start any countermeasures.
Reality stretched and bent as the familiar surrounding of his cabin disappeared, and he was transported a colossal distance with unimaginable speed. Tremors spiraled through his immaterial form, as he and Mayborne passed barrier after barrier, emplaced to prevent any unregistered psionic porting. The large amount of barriers indicated the place Mayborne was bringing him to had some tight security.
Passing one last barrier, Jack sensed his body begin to rematerialized again, and he prepared himself for whatever awaited him.
He had barely reformed again when he made his move, ala punching Mayborne in the face. The man somehow managed to block O'Neill's first strike, but hunched over when Jack simultaneously kneed him between his legs then plunged a fist into his stomach. Jumping back, he hastily channeled his psionic energy to tear through any new assailants, but was instantly hit by at least a dozen Psi attacks.
For a moment it seemed the unknown attackers might have overpowered Jack before he could collect himself and repel their mental assault. Intending to strike back, O'Neill opened his defenses to counterattack, and five astral lances of pure agony penetrated his consciousness, forcing him to redirect his psionic might on the protection of his mind.
Sensing entities closing in to his physical body, he completely retreated to nothing but psionic defense, while only narrowly dodging a spiral of electricity fired at him.
Pain flooded his nervous systems as only nanoseconds later two more lightning arcs were shot at him, with one hitting. Cursing imaginatively, Jack forced his partially paralyzed arms up by the electricity, creating a purple psionic shield a heartbeat before another volley impacted him.
Not one second after forming the shield, he was already forced to dissolve it as the psi power invested in making the barrier missed the block protecting his mind, something the other psi fighters present immediately noticed.
"GENTLEMEN! WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP THIS!"
Jack, as well as the power armor clad guards fighting him, all froze in their current actions and diverted their attention to the shouting person. Namely, a rather small white haired woman in uniform, one who had a clearly angered expression on her face.
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Saliva ran down Allen's mouth as he stared at the delicious meal before him. Everything from the finest pizza to the sweetest of deserts was present. And all for him to eat.
Lurching forward with closed eyes he rammed his teeth into the steak in front of him and tasted the... dust.
Opening his eyelids again while spitting out the stuff in his mouth, the colossal ten course dinner was gone. It was replaced by rows of people, and one quick glance told him that the "steak" was nothing but a piece of earth.
"Finally done sleeping and eating dirt?" asked the blonde woman right to him, rather impolitely. Blinking rapidly, he ignored the very rude rhetorical question and instead looked around, observing his surroundings.
Which he quickly discovered consisted of what looked like a poorly lightened dungeon filled with humans who, judging from the clothing, looked like they originated from some history enthusiast club. They all held a respectable distance to him, probably having to do with the large Viper that had wrapped herself protectively around him. Or the dead body of a human male who still had acid dripping off his face. Acid of which he had a vague guess of where it came from.
Before Allen had so much of a chance to talk about where he was, he was interrupted when the reptile slung around him realized he was awake.
"Oh my god Allen, you're awake!" she all but screamed, and instantly began inspecting him for any injuries or signs of discomfort. "How are you? Are you in pain? How's your head doing, cause mine ached when I woke up and-"
The Terran managed to wiggle one of his arms out of her tight hug to put a finger before her, stopping her rapid questions about his well being. "It's okay Med. I'm fine. No pain, no injuries, nothing.
While saying this, he tried to remember what happened and how he got here. He was faintly able to recall how he and that guy in golden armor fought. The man was able to fire some kind of yellow energy with his hand device into Allen's brain, most likely radiation; judging how it had hurt and he had been losing consciousness. Next thing was him awakening here.
He noticed how the woman right to them scoffed and frowned.
"Miss Templar, say, were you the one who killed that man?" he asked her, pointing at the corpse.
"I didn't mean to." she told him, a somewhat apologetic look on her face. "When I woke up, he was groping me and I reacted instinctively."
"When you woke up, huh?" That couldn't have been all that long ago. Terran acid was very potent and given the state the deformed face of the rapist was it was at most an hour ago. "What happened? Where are we?"
"Do I look like I know?" she answered sarcastically. "Could you two please disentangle? It makes both of you easy targets when we have to fight our way out of here."
Now it was Allen's time to frown, but he and Medusa followed her request nonetheless, both recognizing the truth behind it. Despite obeying her, the female Terran's face remained unfriendly and she turned away from them, starting to quietly pray in Latin.
"So those are humans." whispered Medusa staring at the other prisoners clad in fur and other primitive clothing. "I thought they were extinct, that all humans are Terrans now?"
"They're probably the descendants of human slaves from Earth." answered Allen. "You know, like Abydosians. In that movie about the Stargate expedition, the one where Kurt Russel played as O'Neill."
"Oh, I thought it was something like that." the Viper told him nervously. "Allen, I'm scared. What will happen to us?"
"We'll be tortured to extract any possible information out of us, and then either be killed or turned into slaves!" answered the Templar before Allen could say anything. "Of course none of us will reveal them anything so we'll be killed."
Her tone throughout the prediction sent a shudder down both Medusa's and Allen's spines, and the white haired Terran pushed the Viper behind him. When the woman stood up to take a step towards them, psionic power crackled in her eyes and around her hand.
"You won't talk, will you?" She took another step, causing the other Terran and the Viper to back away an equal distance away her. "You are citizens of Terra, and it is your holy duty to deny the enemy any advantage he could gain over us."
"Yeah, sure! We won't say a word, right Med?" he assured the woman while continuing to back away, frantically thinking of any options they had should the Templar attack them. The Vioer mirrored his actions while hastily nodding.
"You do not have any anti-interrogation training." stated the woman, now with a deadly calm voice. "You wont have a choice in it. Sorry, but I can't allow any risks to Terra."
She took another step towards them, her arms now glowing purple; Allen knew she was ready to unleash the lethal rend blades. Both Allen and Medusa tensed, unwilling to simple die just now.
"KREE! Salkesh!"
The words, bellowed in a foreign language, ripped through the air. Alone it caused the humans to disperse in terror, while simultaneously making the two Terrans and the Viper jump in surprise.
The gate separating the humans from the Jaffa on the other side of the large dungeon was slowly lifted, the serpent guards lining up behind the entrance, lowered staffs at ready to blast any slave who wanted to try something stupid.
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Rya'c cautiously moved forward. Unlike the other serpent warriors guarding the human slaves, he alone saw a threat from the trio of bizarre warriors from that one world, who were easily capable of slaughtering them all. And he could with sincerity say that he had never before battled such fearsome foes. Which was precisely the reason why he was here.
"So, this are the ones who killed most of Apophis guard and captured your father? They look impressive enough." said Salesh, the commander of the dungeon guards. He was occupied with eying the three beings, who weren't moving upon seeing the gates being opened.
The two human looking ones were big, easily towering over the humans around them. In fact, they were taller than most Jaffa, but that wasn't what made their inhuman nature obvious. That was firstly made clear to the Jaffa (and most likely the slaves in the dungeon as well) when the woman had killed the slave fondling her. She simply grabbed his shoulders and exhaled something resembling a green cloud, which covered most of the molesters face and upper body.
Salesh doubted anyone in the prison hadn't heard the grueling screams as the poison ate it's way through his skull.
"Didn't you say she was hit by a staff blast in the stomach?" he asked. "She does not seem to be in any pain. Did our Lord heal her with his powers?"
"I doubt it." answered Rya'c, who had noticed as well. "It is more likely that these creatures possess extraordinary pain resistance. It would not surprise me."
His eyes narrowed as he watched the blonde woman; he remembered well how she attacked his father and the other Jaffa, killing and fighting with the same fanatical glimpse in the eyes that could be found in the faces of far too many of his brothers.
The overseer might see potential allies in them; allies for his secret struggle against the false gods. But he hadn't seen that creature in action, gutting Jaffa with purple swords with glee. And for that, Rya'c feared for his safety.
The other humans, all freshly abducted from the countless worlds of his Lord's domain, each one hosting primitive human civilizations, backed away from the advancing Jaffa moving into the large hall, leaving his targets open.
Suppressing the tremble attempting to take control of his body, he too went along.
All three, the two humanlike beings and the large serpent, straightened and visible tensed as the Jaffa formed a circle around them.
"You three!" Rya'c barked, stepping forward while pointing at them. "Come with me at once!"
The three hesitated and stared at one another, as if they were unsure to follow the order or not. Sighing, the trio slowly began to walk towards him, each being accompanied by two Jaffa.
Turning around, Rya'c sensed the burning eyes of the blonde on his back, and he suddenly got the feeling that the woman knew exactly who he was, despite her only seeing him in his serpent armor and not in person.
He couldn't shake the feeling as they passed the gate, moving through the dungeons entrance an up to their intended destination. Their group was stopped multiple times, but the mention that he was acting on orders of the overseer was more than enough to overcome these small obstacles.
"Where are you bringing us?" asked a timid voice, causing him to look to the speaker. Surprisingly did it not originate from the white haired man, the smallest of the three (small being relative, given that he was still bigger than him) but the large snake, who had clear worry written all over her face. Rya'c raised an eyebrow, not expecting the large predator to be the most visibly concerned of the group.
"To the Grand Overseer. He will decide over your fate." he answered flatly.
"Is that another punk who is mentally deranged enough to think of himself as a god?" the question caused Rya'c, as well as all other Jaffa, to stop in their tracks, didn't originate from the serpent.
Whirling around while activating his staff, he aimed his weapon directly at her face. Simultaneously Salesh, who was one of the escorting Jaffa, walked up to her and rammed the end of his staff in her stomach, exactly where her wound was.
"Speak of your god like again, and I will personally execute you for it, Slave!" he hissed, twisting the staff to rip open part of the crude clothing she wore there to reveal the wound. Or better, the lack of a wound, as only bare skin was visible.
"What a pathetic strike!" scoffed the blonde, with neither her face nor her voice showing any signs of pain. Before anyone could react she punched Salesh in the face, putting enough force into the blow to shatter his nose and to send him reeling him back.
"And there is only one God, who commands me. The God with whose help I endured, fought and killed horrors which you couldn't even imagine! SI DI VOLUNT!" while screaming the last three words, her entire body practically exploded in purple light, blinding the Jaffa who were about to fire upon her.
Simultaneously with the Viper and the white haired man each tackling the nearest Jaffa, the woman lunged forward to drive two energy blades through the chests of the Jaffa between her and Rya'c, killing them instantly. Rya'c, who'd had been smart enough to squeeze his eyes shut once the woman had started glowing, observed how balls of the purple light exited the two dying Jaffa and were absorbed by their killer.
Before she could however claim even more Jaffa lives starting with Ry'ac, she was hit by a wave of yellow energy, slamming the warrior into the companions behind her.
The surviving Jaffa immediately aimed their staffs at them, but were stopped from executing them by the harsh voice of the overseer. "Stop this!"
It was all that was needed to stop the trio, causing the Terrans and the Viper to stop and stare at him in pure shock.
"Impossible."
Authors Notes: Hmmm, who may this overseer be, that he's able to shock Carter, Allen and Medusa by his mere appearance? Also to anyone wondering if the Terrans will just stomp any opposition in the galaxy be assured, that will not happen.
I hope you liked this chapter. If you did leaving a review would be nice. I am especially interested what you think of Von Strache, cause the good Grand Admiral will play quite a big role.